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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29318595">queen of pentacles, suspended</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravens_wings/pseuds/ravens_wings'>ravens_wings</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Royalty, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, M/M, Mentions of Death, Occasional foul language, Suicidal Ideation, Updating tags as I go, guess i'll do it myself, main character is my own self-created femc for p5, no powers, sigh, since atlus won't let me canonically kiss my boys, slow burn? i guess?, straight up four people dating at once - not so straight i guess, tempted to tag this as shuakeshu but it's not? really?</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 09:42:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,736</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29318595</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravens_wings/pseuds/ravens_wings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>upright: stability, abundance, nurturing, kind partner, domestic comfort<br/>reversed: shallow and selfish partner, relationship for wrong reasons</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akechi Goro/Kitagawa Yusuke, Akechi Goro/Original Female Character(s), Kitagawa Yusuke/Original Female Character(s), Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Sakura Futaba/Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>queen of pentacles, suspended</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>so! weird that i'm posting this first as me debuting my beloved oc, kayda rin, to the world! i have more planned for her, and i do hope that y'all will grow to love her as much as i do!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The second worst day of Rin’s life and the weather was beautiful — not a cloud in the sky, bright blue and clear. It was insulting. In the stories and paintings, the funerals of important people were always on a dark and gloomy day, with continuous light rain during the ceremony and wake. And afterward, when the deceased’s loved ones returned home alone and heartbroken, the weather would crescendo into a tempestuous storm with crashing thunder and blinding lightning. Undoubtedly, when this event is immortalized as one of the saddest chapters in the Kingdom of Ctesylla’s history, the weather will not be painted as a perfect day — it instead will be dramaticized as overcast and rainy. It will be somber and lightless, to reflect the loss and sadness the entire kingdom must be feeling.</p>
<p>Of course, the loss experienced by the young Princess is undoubtedly far more vast than that of the kingdom as a whole. to lose her parents at the tender age of 17, and so suddenly, too. whispers of who the culprit could be in the most extreme in the recent string of assassinations were running rampant throughout the entire continent. To be so bold as to murder the King and Queen of Ctesylla — it drew a lot of speculation. Some believed that it was a noble of Ctesylla who was so dissatisfied with the royal family and their recent decrees, that by disrupting the power of the Kaydas they could manipulate the vulnerable and grieving Princess into being their pawn. Others thought that perhaps it was Chief Counsel Sakura, tired of serving the royal family, and instead deciding to take matters into his own hands and control the Princess from the shadows as a puppetmaster. Those who are far removed from Ctesylla believed that the young Princess was the one to kill her parents, tired of waiting to ascend to the throne, and took matters into her own hands.</p>
<p>The nobles and Princess of Ctesylla pay no attention to any of the whispers, more concerned with the funeral and succession of the throne. Her Highness, Princess Rin, while knowledgable and kind, would not be coronated until her betrothal to a suitable suitor or suitress. The loss of her parents before coming of age triggered a rarely seen old custom of Ctesylla’s royalty. The Code of Bereavement, following the loss of royals, has fortunately been rarely practiced.</p>
<p>
  <em>‘Before betrothal and coronation, if the throne’s heir has been orphaned before coming of age they must don all-black garb and a black veil to cover their face. When a suitor or suitress has been selected, the heir may remove the veil, and don their usual garb. If the veil is removed before betrothal, the heir is then betrothed to whoever is the first to witness their bare face.’</em>
</p>
<p> Rin has her head bowed, as she stands before the opulent tombstones in the royal cemetery. Any normal person would be fearful, heartbroken, or enraged at the murder of their parents. Rin just felt empty. All of the other nobles and royal families from Ctesylla and the other kingdoms gave her their condolences upon their arrival hours ago before the ceremony — she barely registered any of them. Her thoughts since the night of her parents’ deaths have been consumed with static.</p>
<p>
  <em>‘I am finefinefine. This will all turn out finefinefine. Breathebreathebreathe.’</em>
</p>
<p>She blinked and it was over. Sakura was guiding her back into the palace, for the brief wake they would be hosting for her parents. And also where nobles and other royals would arrange for their heirs and children to be suitors or suitresses for Rin’s hand in marriage. It felt disrespectful to do so on that day of all the days that this could be arranged.</p>
<p>A part of her wanted to scream, to shriek, to tear off her veil, and toss her crown to the ground: <em>‘Have you no shame!? My parents were murdered and you want to turn their wake into a damned matchmaking event!?’</em></p>
<p>Of course, she choked down any and all emotion, a porcelain doll, the perfect successor to the throne. Instead, she kept her gaze downcast, and her hands demurely held in each other, level with her waist. Parents and their sons or daughters approached her and Sakura, speaking of the merits of a union between their families, territories, kingdoms, whatever. Rin gave Sakura the signal to dismiss all of them, knowing that the only two she would be considering were already approved of and waiting for her in the royal library. She simply wanted to run to the library and collapse into her two dearest friends’ arms.</p>
<p>“Hoo, boy.”</p>
<p>Sakura’s statement of shock snapped the Princess’s mind into focus for what could be the first time in weeks. Her golden gaze slowly lifted from the floor to see the last of the potential suitors and his father approaching. The dread in her solidified at the sight of the King of Pentheus, Shido Masayoshi. And the young man accompanying him had to have been the recently legitimized heir to his throne, and of course a potential marriage match for Rin. She drew herself up to her full height, however petite she may be, to show no weakness to the rumored ruthless king. King Shido had been slowly turning his kingdom into a hellscape for its less affluent citizens. The Shigeko family had been reporting loyally and truthfully to the Kaydas about the state of Pentheus for years, even before Shido rose to power after his older brother died of a “mysterious” illness. The rapid decline of the kingdom’s state of affairs and the steady increase in the kingdom’s nobles’ opulence painted a pretty clear picture of what the new King’s priorities really were. Of course, King Shido had no problem executing any vocally dissident citizens of his. So Rin, determined to not fail her parents’ legacy, stood tall — anger flashing in her eyes.</p>
<p>King Shido and his unnamed heir stopped about three feet in front of the young Princess and the Chief Counsel. His barely concealed sneer at Rin, made her stomach roll, as she could barely pretend to be neutral towards this vile man. Rin chose to shift her gaze to the newest member of the young royals in the continent. He was undeniably gorgeous. Clear, unblemished, soft-looking caramel skin, and incredibly silky locks a few shades darker than his skin with pieces framing his shapely jaw, but most of it pulled back into a short ponytail. The Prince’s eyes were the real draw-in for his beauty. They were a deep, wine red, and seemed unreasonably guarded for someone who is soon to have the world handed to them on a silver platter as the heir to a throne.</p>
<p>The guardedness Rin saw in his eyes drew her in and reminded her of years ago when Yusuke had first come to seek refuge in her palace. That there was something hidden, something that she needed to know. Yusuke’s eyes then, and the unnamed heir’s eyes now, screamed <em>‘things are not as they seem’.</em> And Rin was drawn in, despite his eyes not once meeting hers during her appraisal.</p>
<p>In the moment that Rin chose to take a calculated risk, she swore she saw a blue butterfly flutter behind the Prince. Their fates had been sealed in that moment then, the goddess Lavenza had decided that all will be as it was meant to be. Rin will follow her heart, as the goddess decrees. She turned her gaze to her trusted Chief Counsel and approved of the Prince of Pentheus as a suitor.</p>
<p>Her soft golden gaze turns to the beautiful Prince once more, and she mustered up the best smile she could given the circumstances. When his downcast gaze finally lifted to meet hers, there was a surge. A connectedness hit Rin full in her soul. Much like when she first met gazes with Yusuke and Mikazuki. While the moment itself was fleeting, the realization hit her hard. </p>
<p><em>He was important.</em> </p>
<p>In some way, their fates were entwined by the divine will of the goddess. The butterfly wasn’t a willed hallucination.</p>
<p>Her smile became more genuine in that moment.</p>
<p>Rin extended her left arm out to the Prince, and he wasted no time in linking his arm with hers. She exited the large parlor hosting her parents' wake and left Sakura and King Shido to iron out the details of the suitorship. Leading the still-unnamed Prince towards the library where Yusuke and Mikazuki were waiting, Rin had to bite back a giddy smile.</p>
<p>Because all of the rumors about who the true assassin of Rin’s parents could be, however “plausible” they may be, are wrong. There are a select few in Ctesylla who know the truth. The Princess and Chief Counsel and a select few trustworthy staff members have formed a small assembly in order to dethrone the responsible party. Yes — the one responsible for the death of the King and Queen of Ctesylla was the King of Pentheus, Shido Masayoshi. His true motives are unknown, but the assembly has hypothesized that he will attempt to seize control of Ctesylla due to the now weekend state of the kingdom. the Ctesyllan ambassadors to Pentheus have been reporting for years that King Shido has been using his charm and intellect to slowly gather intel and use blackmail against other noble and royal families throughout the continent to consolidate power and to line his coffers with an unnecessary amount of wealth. the Ctesyllan royal family and nobles were the only ones to not acquiesce to Shido'a manipulations. Always being a people of truth, and never hiding scandal or their true intentions. Of course, that gained the ire of the greedy king, and he sent an assassin to take out the King and Queen. Leaving the weak, frail, grieving Princess to attempt and fail to pick up the pieces of her broken kingdom.</p>
<p>Or so he thought. The reserved Princess, of course, is no fool. Her parents, while withholding affection and pride in their daughter, did not fail to make sure she knew how to properly rule the kingdom. With Chief Counsel Sakura and the assembly by her side, and her personal guards, Princess Kayda Rin would not fall.</p>
<p>And now, with Shido's heir in her arms, she had begun to formulate a plan.</p>
<p>She would not let her parents’ deaths go unavenged.</p>
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